Impact
It may look of the acid-jazz from 
but Jamaïque is French for Jamaica.
This island cacáo typically switches-on one of the lighter if not quite brighter accents in the chocolate world. Bonnat slides the levers to darken it considerably. No real sparkling acidity to speak of; nor much swing in the rhythm either.
Overdubbed Jamaican funk... which still sounds pretty good.
but Jamaïque is French for Jamaica.This island cacáo typically switches-on one of the lighter if not quite brighter accents in the chocolate world. Bonnat slides the levers to darken it considerably. No real sparkling acidity to speak of; nor much swing in the rhythm either.
Overdubbed Jamaican funk... which still sounds pretty good.
Appearance 5 / 5
last of the hefties... in this boutique era of mini, micro & nano portions, a heavy 100g plate scored into visually-hypnotic bite-size tiles
last of the hefties... in this boutique era of mini, micro & nano portions, a heavy 100g plate scored into visually-hypnotic bite-size tiles
| Color: | peerless brown |
| Surface: | no wrong |
| Temper: | mirror-smooth |
| Snap: | crackles with sizzle |
Aroma 7.8 / 10
who nose if roasted within a fake eyelash of its life (i.e., with some margin of error to spare)... the nose knows: reading thru the tea leaves smudged in creosote rests a beautifully-rendered almond skin counterpoint -> St. John's fruit (carob) treacle billows up indomitable chocolate before settling into cocoa mud pie
Mouthfeel 11.4 / 15
| Texture: | hard |
| Melt: | ever-last |
Flavor 45.2 / 50
chocolate-chocolate -> fudge with breadfruit sandwiched between charcoal elements of Oreo™ cookies -> melts toward white choc -> flash candy corn (glucose hit) -> spiced fig (coriander, then cinnamon... this bar's highlight) -> hot coals extinguish into cigar ash & carob pod
Quality 15.5 / 20
The only new release for the Fall '11 Season from the venerable house of Bonnat (as Stéphane gears up for a few tantalizing launches coming next year; one of possible historical importance, genetic distinction & flavor dazzle).
This bar squarely takes aim & fires off a straight-chocolate slug. Generally one-dimensional, albeit a deep one.
Bonnat's pat formulation: 75% cacáo-content (including the approximate 5% added cocoa butter), sugar (neither lecithin nor vanlla), golden-warm roast that goes to toast here, & considerable conching.
Less an exposition on Jamaica's champagne-dappled sparkle of well-fermented cacáo than on a house-style which blunts the origin's delicately-sided nature, similar to Fresco's duo 209 and 210. If those over-hit their mark, this does too but within the near-miss zone. And a bigger core chocolate results.
A solid bar (such as it is, with those ashen compounds) because of inordinately strong backbone / hi-CQ (Chocolate Quotient or baseline cocoa flavor free of any nuances) which, for this island, hits with almost unprecedented force.
Put in the larger perspective... Jamaica, an undervalued source, continues to impress thru whatever processing parameters barsmiths subject it to; & often far more consistently than either of its outsized island neighbors or mainland rivals in the Caribbean.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed September 28, 2011
This bar squarely takes aim & fires off a straight-chocolate slug. Generally one-dimensional, albeit a deep one.
Bonnat's pat formulation: 75% cacáo-content (including the approximate 5% added cocoa butter), sugar (neither lecithin nor vanlla), golden-warm roast that goes to toast here, & considerable conching.
Less an exposition on Jamaica's champagne-dappled sparkle of well-fermented cacáo than on a house-style which blunts the origin's delicately-sided nature, similar to Fresco's duo 209 and 210. If those over-hit their mark, this does too but within the near-miss zone. And a bigger core chocolate results.
A solid bar (such as it is, with those ashen compounds) because of inordinately strong backbone / hi-CQ (Chocolate Quotient or baseline cocoa flavor free of any nuances) which, for this island, hits with almost unprecedented force.
Put in the larger perspective... Jamaica, an undervalued source, continues to impress thru whatever processing parameters barsmiths subject it to; & often far more consistently than either of its outsized island neighbors or mainland rivals in the Caribbean.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed September 28, 2011